What is a smooth bore cannon?

A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars.

Why are tank cannons smooth bore?

The majority of modern tanks are fitted with smoothbore guns, which do not utilise rifled barrels in order to impart spin to projectiles as they are fired (see Annex B). The smoothbore design of most modern tank barrels makes it easier for tanks to fire missiles through the same barrel used to fire projectiles.

Is smoothbore better than rifled?

The chief advantages of smoothbore designs are their greater suitability for fin stabilised ammunition and their greatly reduced barrel wear compared with rifled designs. Most modern main battle tanks now mount a smoothbore gun.

Are smooth bore rifles legal?

9. Machine Guns, Short Barreled Rifles, Short Barreled Shotguns Or Smooth Bore Pistol Under California Law. California allows ownership of specific short-barreled rifles, short barreled shotguns and smoothbore pistols, which have been classified as Curios and Relics by the ATF and are owned in accord with Federal law.

What is the reason smoothbore handguns are illegal?

a better answer is the lack of rifling in the barrel is what made the handy gun illegal. the government ruled early on that any handgun with a smooth bore was a shotgun and to be legal a shotgun must have a barrel length of 18 inches and a overall legth on 26 1/2 inches. the H&R handy gun and several other handguns with smooth bores had to be discontinued. however the H&R handy gun was still offered for sale in canada until at least 1941 where it was not outlawed until sometime after wwII.

A smooth-bore, cast-iron ship’s cannon , from the Grand Turk, a replica of a mid-18th century three-masted frigate A shotgun fires multiple, round shot ; firing out of a rifled barrel would impart centrifugal forces that result a doughnut-shaped pattern of shot (with a high projectile density on the periphery, and a low projectile density in the interior).

Why are tank guns smoothbore?

Tanks with smoothbore guns use fin-stabilized ammunition, making the rifling unnecessary. Smoothbore guns have several advantages over rifled guns, such as having higher velocities and longer lives due to reduced friction in the bore, and better performance with HEAT ammunition (spinning is detrimental to the effects of shaped charges).

What is a smooth bore firearm?

A smoothbore gun is essentially a shotgun. Smoothbores were available much earlier than rifles and were actually more common on the American frontier. A smoothbore gun could be loaded with bird shot, buck shot, round ball, or a combination of round ball and buck shot. The versatile smoothbore can be used for hunting any animal or fowl in America.